Return of the Counters (Standard MTG Deck)

When the first Gatecrash card was revealed, I remember deciding to keep an eye on the set.. At the time, I was in the final stages of designing my first deck, Counters gonna Count, and I didn't have the time to worry about a new set. And then life got in the way, and after designing my first real deck, I faded out of Magic. Fast forward a few months, and it's the week before the Pre-Release! And just as I'm getting back into Magic, I learn about the Simic guild... and how perfectly it meshes with Golgari, especially with regards to my own deck. I just knew I had to re-design my deck... so, here it is!

This deck is creature-centric, so with that in mind...

First, we have 4x Arbor Elf. This is a green deck, and the main strategy is to ramp up into a certain hydra, so obviously the elf provides a very good foundation here, and every one matters.

Next is 2x Gyre Sage. While the sage is good, because it grows in power and does the same thing as the elf, it takes longer to become useful; for this reason, I have only included two. I am debating taking them out, but as of now am not sure of exactly what to do with the sages.

The 2x Strangleroot Geist are here simply for aggro and a way to keep the tempo rolling into the third or fourth turns. I have plenty of green mana available, so the mana cost of GG is usuaully not a problem. Plus, after dying, the geist becomes a whole lot better.

Next up is 3x Dreg Mangler. Again, the mangler provides much of the same purpose as the geist; he helps keep tempo up. However, he can also be scavanged after death, and if I have no other options, this usually helps me greatly. A good card, but again not exactly sure if it belongs in this deck yet.

Now for the interesting part. These next two creatures provide the backbone of my deck and are the focus of my strategy. First up is 3x Corpsejack Menace. The menace is amazing, because he doubles the +1/+1 counters placed on any creature; he doesn't care if they are from a spell or ability, they will get doubled. However, his main purpose is to pump up...

The 3x Primordial Hydra. While at first glance, the hydra is nothing special, it has the potential to become frighteningly dangerous. If given hexproof when it has a large number of counters on it (and thus also trample), the hydra becomes almost impossible to stop. This is just a cool card, and definitely a key point of this deck, if not THE key point.

First up is 3x Abrupt Decay. The reason I have three of them in here is that they really are amazing for early game removal; they help keep tempo up and control down, and are quite hard to counter. ; )

Next is 2x Burst of Strength. This card helps free potential blockers and with the menace helps generate +1/+1 counters.

After that is 2x Dispel and 2x Dissipate. These cards provide very similar functions, the blocking of spells; however, dispel does it only for instants, while dissipate can effect any spell. Both solid cards with regards to keeping threats/removal at a minimum.

Now onto 2x Hunger of the Howlpack. While normally an average card, if a creature died the turn I use it, suddenly er are looking at a permanent +3/+3 boost to a creature; and if the menace is around, that'd be +6/+6, thank you very much.

Finally, rounding off the instants is 2x Simic Charm. This charm is great in my deck, whether it's giving hexproof, pumping a creature up, or controlling my opponent, the moments when it is bad are few.

3x Increasing Savagery and 2x Prey Upon. The savagery has proven itself to be absolutely fantastic for me, even if it only happens at sorcery speed. The +5/+5 boost is never bad, not even on a 1/1 creature. Ever. With regards to prey upon, I figured I did not another form of removal. and with my big, pumped up creatures, what better way by making them fight an opponent's creatures.

2x Alpha Authority. Putting this on a hydra (or really any creature) turns it into either a nusiance for a creature-heavy deck or a serious problem for a control deck with few creatures. Still testing this one, unsure sure if it's gonna stay or not.

1x Garruk, Primal Hunter. Garruk is juts all-around good, whether giving me a creature, or card advantage, or big fat wurms, he is awesome. I'm debating putting more than 1 of him in, but again, unsure of what will happen there.

So, there you have it, this is my deck. I'm looking for whatever constructive and polite feedback you have, any and all help is appreciated.

Thanks for the 23 +1's and over 4000 views! It means a lot to me, and please keep 'em coming! :D

Thank you!

P/S: If you're wondering why my description is so large, let's just say I had nothing to do one afternoon and I really like this deck. ;p

P/S/S: This deck is intended to be viable in Standard; it is not just a casual deck.

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Space for new comments — April 10, 2013

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I just updated the description and the idea of this deck quite a bit, so here's some space for new comments.

I am almost done getting the cards I need, and once I have everything, I will be taking this to FNM to see how it holds up.

Now... comment away!

Removal — March 1, 2013

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Top Ranked	Achieved #19 position overall 11 years ago
Date added	11 years
Last updated	10 years
Legality	This deck is not Standard legal.
Rarity (main - side)	4 - 0 Mythic Rares 20 - 5 Rares 14 - 6 Uncommons 12 - 4 Commons
Cards	60
Avg. CMC	2.21
Tokens	Beast 3/3 G, Wurm 6/6 G
Folders	Decks, deck idea, counters , favorite counter decks, Gatecrash Decks, Try these:, simic, Counters, D1, Decks me likes
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